Ocean-going push-barge and bargeline



Dec. 16, 1969 KEN OHCHO ETAL 3,483,842

OCEAN-GOING PUSH-BARGE AND BARGELINE Filed 001.. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet1 Fig.2.

Dec. 16, 1969 KEN OHCHO ETAL 3,483,842

OCEAN-GOING PUSH-BARGE AND B ARGELINE Filed Oct. 5, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet2 Fig.4.

United States Patent US. Cl. 114235 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREMeans to link an ocean-going barge with a pusher boat, the said bargehaving a curved recess in the stern thereof which is open at the maindeck, the stern and the bottom, the said recess being large enough toreceive the bow of the pusher boat, the said bow of the pusher boathaving a shape generally complementary to and slightly smaller than theshape of the recess, shock absorbing members of elastic material beinginterposed between the bow portion of the pusher boat and the wall ofthe barge defining the recess, the barge and the pusher boat being solinked that the stern of the pusher boat can ride on the waveindependently of the barge, thereby maintaining the propeller of thepusher boat constantly in the water.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.678,453, filed Oct. 26, 1967 and now Patent No. 3,446,173, which in turnis a continuation of application Ser. No. 589,078, filed Oct. 24, 1966.

The invention relates to an ocean-going barge and a pusher boat, and itsobject consists in providing a oceangoing barge and a pusher boatcapable of navigating on a rough sea with ease and safety by preventinga decrease in propulsion by means of increasing the navigability.

In the conventional linking device of the barge and the pusher boat,both the bow and the stern of the pusher boat are rigidly fixed to thebarge, the barge and the pusher boat constantly pitching integrallyagainst the waves, the propeller of the pusher boat frequently emergingabove the water consequently, with the result that the propulsionefficiency is greatly reduced and the propulsion is drasticallydiminished, thus rendering the barge and the pusher boat unsuitable forthe navigation on a rough sea.

The invention relates to improvements of the linking device of the bargeand the pusher boat for the prevention of a decrease in the propulsionby obviating the foregoing defects; a recess being formed at the sternof the barge to receive the bow of the pusher boat thereinto, the bargeand the pusher boat being linked together by means of coupling ropewhich has enough elasticity to allow the stern of the pusher boat topitch with shock absorbing members interposed between the bow of thepusher boat and the recess at the stern of the barge, so that the sternof the pusher boat can ride on the wave independently of the bargethereby maintaining the propeller of the pusher boat constantly in thewater.

The particulars of the invention will be set forth hereinunder inreference to the embodiment illustrated by the accompanying drawing, ofwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plan indicating the embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a lateral view of the foregoing in the state wherein the bargeis unloaded.

FIG. 3 is a lateral view of the foregoing in the state wherein the bargeis loaded to capacity.

ICC

FIG. 4 is a relative lateral view of the pusher boat and the barge on ahigh sea, illustrating the etfect of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a relative lateral view of the barge and the pusher boatintegrally fixed together by the conventional method.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, the numetal 1 designatesa barge and 2 designates a pusher boat.

At the stern 3 of the barge 1 is formed a curved recess 5 into which tofit the bow 4 of the pusher boat 2.

The recess 5 is to have a depth necessary and enough to enclose thepivoting point of the pusher boat 2 thereinto, i.e. approximatelyone-third to one-half the entire length of the pusher boat 2. At thetime when the bow 4 of the pusher boat 2 is fitted into the recess 5 ofthe barge 1, shock absorbing members 7 consisting of rubber or the likeof a large dimension are fitted to the inside 9 of the recess 5 so thatthe bow 4 of the pusher boat 2 may come in contact with the said shockabsorbing members 7, similar shock absorbing members 7 consisting ofribbon or the like being also interposed between both sides 8 of the how4 and the inside 9 of the recess 5.

The coupling of the pusher boat 2 and the barge 1 is effected byerecting a hooking member 10 at the inner most part of the recess 5adjacent the rear end of the center line (a) of the barge 1 and anotherhooking member 11 at the front end of the center line (b) of the pusherboat, i.e. on the front end of the bow 4, both members 10, 11 beinglinked together by means of a coupler 12.

It is advisable to so arrange that the linking parts of the coupler 12and the hooking members 10, 11 will be level with each other.

The relative position of the pusher boat 2 and the barge 1 beingdifferent according as the barge 1 is unloaded as illustrated in FIG. 2and the barge 1 is loaded to capacity as illustrated in FIG. 3, ahooking member 14 is erected in the window 13 provided at the bow 4 ofthe pusher boat 2, so that the coupler 12 may be maintained on a levelby linking the hooking members 10, 11 together when the barge 1 isunloaded and by linking the hooking members 10, 14 together when thebarge 1 is loaded to capacity.

The object of linking the hooking members 10, 11 or 14 on a level is toenable the coupler 12 to link the said hooking members 10, 11 or 14 inthe shortest distance, thereby avoiding unnecessary elongation of thecoupler 12.

For the coupler 12 is used a powerful elastic substance consisting ofsynthetic fiber or natural fiber, such as nylon rope and the like, whichis tied up after being wound round the hooking members 10, 11 or 14several times, with the result that, even when the barge 1 and thepusher boat 2 pitch heavily owing to high waves and a considerably bigstress is imposed on the linking parts, the coupler 12, only elongatingto a certain extent, is safe from breakage, partly with the help of thedamping properties of the shock absorbing members 7.

The barge 1 and the pusher boat 2 being thus coupled, the stern 15 ofthe pusher boat 2 is never heaved above the surface of water even on arough sea as illustrated in FIG. 4, the propeller being constantlymaintained in the water, thereby preventing a decrease in thepropulsion, whereas in case of the. conventional method wherein thebarge and the pusher boat are integrally fixed together the stern 19 ofthe pusher boat 17 is heaved above the water as the pusher boat 17 andthe barge 18 make an integrated longitudinal movement as illustrated inFIG. 5, as a result of which the propeller 20, frequently exposed abovethe water, is let to race, the propulsion being greatly reducedconsequently. Therefore, the barge and the pusher boat of the integratedtype is unusable on a rough sea.

The linking device of the invention has for its object enclosure of thepivoting point 6 of the pusher boat 2 inside the recess 5 of the barge 1by gving the said recess 5 a depth of approximately one-third toone-half the entire length of the pusher boat 2 as illustrated in FIGS.1 to 4.

The draft of the pusher boat 2 being changed on a rough sea, thepivoting point 6 of the pusher boat 2 is variable between the pointsfrom one-third to one-half the entire length of the pusher boat 2 fromits how.

The foregoing pivoting point 6 being constantly enclosed inside therecess 5 of the barge. 1, the moment which arises at the time when theladder 22 of the pusher boat 2 is deflected at such an angle asindicated in FIG. 1, acting in the directions pointed by the-arrows 23,24 centering on the pivoting point 6, is absorbed at the point A on theinternal wall of the recess 5 through the shock absorbing members 7,with the result that both the. maintenance and change of the course aregreatly facilitated. The coupler 21 at the stern indicated in FIGS. 2, 3is an emergency coupler in case of possible breakage of the forwardcoupler 12, the said emergency coupler 21 being usually fixed in a lineof the barge to the stern thereof and being substantially symmetricalwith respect to said centerline, the bow of the pusher boat having ashape substantially complementary to and slightly smaller than the shapeof the recess of the barge, the recess being sufiiciently deep in thedirection of the length of the barge to enclose the pivoting point ofthe pusher boat, shock absorbing members positioned along the length ofthe curved sidewalls of the recess and being interposed between the bowportion of the pusher boat and the sidewalls of the barge which definethe recess, and coupling means linking the barge and the pusher boat andconsisting of a first coupler lying substantially on thecenterline ofthe bargeand extending on a level from the main deck of the barge to thebow of the pusher boat and being sufliciently elastic to allow a limitedamount of relative movement between the barge and the pusher boat, andcables extending from the main deck of the barge at the. stern thereofto the stern of the pusher boat, whereby the stern of the pusher boatwill ride on the waves independently of the barge so that the propellerof the-pusher boat will always remain in the water.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS TRYGVE M. BLIX, Primary Examiner

